


The Seventh Stone

by Diana_Silver



Series: The Infinity Stones [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Infinity Stones, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:26:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23120167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diana_Silver/pseuds/Diana_Silver
Summary: Adira is a professional artist. But as an ex-member of S.H.I.E.L.D., she also has many other hidden talents.When she is asked by Director Fury to join the Avengers Initiative, she jumps at the chance. With it, Adira did not expect the immediate problems that came with it.The topic of the past is a shaky foundation, and when you're the one with a questionable stone, the past is everything.Adira has one weapon to shake the nation, for it seems to have paper, a pencil, and an endless imagination has become one.
Series: The Infinity Stones [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661896
Kudos: 2





	1. The Deal

**✧~The Avengers~✧**

The story follows the events of the movie; _The Avengers_. Proceed with caution if you haven't seen the movie yet. If you haven't, then I'm not judging you.

* * *

**✧ ✧ ✧ ✧**

╒◖══════════════════════◗╕

_❝ Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together. ❞_   
**~ Marilyn Monroe**

╘◖══════════════════════◗╛

**✧ ✧ ✧ ✧**

* * *

Adira watched people as they passed while sitting in the cherry-red Chevrolet Corvette, the car crawling through New York traffic.

"Nice to be sitting in something familiar... Glad to see you kept Lola in tip-top condition," Adira strained as she attempted to make small-talk.

Coulson, the driver next to Adira, made a face of mock surprise, "and she speaks."

"Well, sorry for being awkward about this," Adira drawled, messing with a strand of her black hair.

"I am honestly surprised to see you at all after you went under the radar," Coulson commented then glanced at Adira for a reaction, which he found none. "Now you seem to have some reason to come back, that makes me wonder what kind of trouble you have gotten into this time."

"Name a time when I'm not," Adira snorted, "even when I'm not in big trouble I get into many small troubles to make up the difference ."

Coulson laughed as he shook his head, and once it died down, he shook his head. "How about you rest? Don't you think you deserve it?" Coulson questioned, and Adira scowled. "I did rest once, years ago, but now... Rest is for the dead."

"You are going to regret those words," Coulson stated, then he looked over at Adira, "you don't have to look at everyone around us like they are about to jump us, we are  perfectly  safe ."

"Yeah,  perfectly  safe," Adira mocked, "he says as we have no roof or any actual safety other than some floating tires and a pair of machine guns and flamethrowers that can only point forward ." Adira then gestured all around, "what if there was a sniper on a roof somewhere?"

Coulson smiled as he chuckled, "there she is," he then looked at Adira, meeting her blue eyes with a glint and a grin. A honk interrupted the moment, causing Adira to look back with an irritated glance.  All the while, Coulson looked forward unfazed, noticing the light was green and the line had inched forward once again.

"Well, with the time we have, why don't you debrief me in what you've been up to lately?" Coulson suggested, and Adira glanced at him before settling to look out at the sea of cars and red brake lights.

"Okay, but it's a long story, and you might end up regretting those words."

"We have time," Coulson shrugged, " we might  get there before nightfall."

Adira laughed before throwing her head back against the seat and closing her eyes, pretending that her fair skin was being warmed by a sun hidden by clouds before starting to tell her story.

**∆∆∆∆∆∆∆**

Coulson pulled up in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and pulled the car into a stop. "We're here," he announced as Adira stared up and took in the towering building.

"Do you want me to walk in with you?" Coulson questioned, which made Adira pull her eyes away from the building and look at her driver.

Silently, Adira gave a nod and Coulson put the car back into drive to find the closest parking spot. Once one was found, Coulson locked up Lola and Adira picked up a messenger bag from the floorboard. Together, they fell into step beside each other as they made their way towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. building.

Adira put her hands in the pockets of her worn, black leather jacket, taking a step behind Coulson while looking around.

"Adira, are you nervous? You know you shouldn't be."

"Yeah, well, it's been more than just a couple years, Phil, last I saw Nick he was new to the rank of ' Director Fury '," Adira grumbled, moving to be in step with Coulson.

"True, but you are talking about in person, I know for a fact you two continued to talk through other means, who else could give tips as you can ?"

Adira chuckled, "well when you put it like that, then we talked quite a bit." She shook her head and gave a small smile to Coulson as he opened the door for her to walk through ahead of him.

"I guess when I left S.H.I.E.L.D. I never  really  left, I  just  became another set of eyes and ears."

"Yeah," Coulson chuckled, "ones that could reach farther than we ever could."

Adira smirked and chuckled, walking beside Coulson as he led her towards the elevators.  When they were in the elevator and started to make their ascent, Coulson looked down at the bag Adira carried.

"If I may ask, what are you carrying in the bag?" Coulson questioned, raising his eyes back to watching the doors.

"Sensitive information, things about the company called Forestics, I tried to give a tip on them long ago, but I  was told  there wasn't enough evidence to move against them ."

"So you took matters into your own hands?"

"Naturally," Adira hummed, "you know I don't like sitting around when people are in danger."

Then the elevator dinged.  People came into the elevator, signaling they had reached the end of their conversation. Adira and Coulson shared one last look before looking forward.  Some people left on the next floor, though when the elevator reached the top floor, Adira and Coulson had to walk around the people left inside.

Coulson then led her through a large office space filled with people focused on their work on either computers or paper.  Then at the end of the room, through a wall of glass, showed Fury at his desk, hyper-focused on reading a file in his hands before moving to his computer.

Adira took a deep breath as they approached the door, she looked up at Coulson, who gave an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

Coulson leaned over to her ear, "let me  just  say, he has been more excited than I have ever seen in years when he was planning a date and time for you to come ."

"That's... Actually comforting," Adira murmured, "thanks." She then knocked on the door and slipped through it, leaving Coulson behind.

"Nick! It has been a long time," Adira exclaimed cheerfully, opening her arms out wide.

"I would hug you, but there are too many glass walls," Fury chuckled, and Adira put on a fake pout as she let her arms fall to the side.

"You're Nicolas Fury, no one would question you."

"Every time you call me 'Nick' or 'Nicholas'  just  makes me want to hug you less and less." Fury retorted, and Adira rolled her eyes.  "I don't care how high up you are, I called you Nick when we first met even when you insisted on Fury, do you think I'm going to change ?"

Fury let out a hearty laugh as he rose from his chair and made large strides towards Adira. "You better not ever change on me, Adira."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Adira smiled as the two pulled each other into a friendly hug, Fury almost swallowing Adira's small, but strong frame.  The woman only a few inches shorter than him, her head just resting over his shoulder when she stood on her toes to give her leverage.

The two pulled away from each other and Fury led Adira to his desk with his hand placed on her back. When Fury neared his desk, he gestured to a set of chairs before moving away to sit on the other side of the desk.

As Adira sat down and placed the bag on the ground next to her, Fury opened a drawer at his desk and took out a file and a badge.

"Since you have  relentlessly  asked with no apologies," Fury started before sitting down, "I am giving in and letting you go into the P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Project to consult Dr. Selving over the Tesseract, one-time visit, just tell him when you are going to be there."  Fury told, then pointed to the file, "that should tell you what we know, and the badge will keep you from being arrested on sight."

Adira smiled, "funny, now I don't have to go in using a fake ID."

"That is more harmless than I thought you would do." Fury commented, and Adira smirked, "What? Am I a horrible human being in your eyes?"

"No, far from that, you're overly protective of the people you care about," Fury started, "you worried me when the e-mails suddenly stopped and a name appeared on the list working on the Tesseract, the only reason I didn't arrest him is that I knew it had to be someone working with you and you scare me," Fury admitted, and Adira laughed.

"I have that effect on people, apparently," Adira smiled, but it fell too quickly. "Though I should give you this and tell you the other part of why I'm glad you called me in," Adira stated, then she reached over the side of the chair and picked up the messenger bag leaning against the chair.  She opened the bag and plucked out a file before dropping the now empty bag at her feet before placing the file on Fury's desk.  "I want back into S.H.I.E.L.D., I don't want to be a ghost anymore because I need your help," Adira said in a desperate as she watched Fury pick up the file with interest and open it.

Fury looked over the file as silence hung in the air, Fury let out a heavy sigh before closing the file and placing it back down on his desk.

"How about," Fury started as he got up and walked over to a secured file cabinet and opened it to pick out a couple of files. He walked back to the desk after closing and locking the cabinet and put the files down on his desk for Adira to look at.

As Adira read the front of the files, her eyes grew wide, "I can give you something better than S.H.I.E.L.D.," Fury stated, and Adira looked up at Fury.

"The Avengers Initiative? You have a team?"

"Somewhat, It might take a while to gather everyone, but I'm not letting you just work with them, I'm asking you to join them," Fury told, and Adira looked away as she stared at the files while wringing her hands. The surprise had now worn away into a calculating gaze and a locked jaw.

Fury sighed, "I know you're not a big team player outside of the people you know, Adira, but this can get you farther than S.H.I.E.L.D. ever would."

Adira leaned back in the chair and rested her elbow on the armrest as she lifted her hand in the air. Her hand started to glow a white hue and a white swirl weaved around her fingers and hand.

"Can you at least make my mission a ghost mission?  I think  I should have the right to tell them myself if it comes down to it," Adira watched the light flicker in her hand, "you know how I am."

Fury scoffed, "of course I can, and yes, I know how sensitive this mission is to you, not just anyone can fight with you."

Adira looked at Fury, smiled, then the weaving light crawled into her hand and solidified into a pen. "Where do I sign?"


	2. Catching Up & New Faces

For the past two hours, Adira and Fury caught up on things with the occasional question about the Avengers Initiative.

Adira hesitantly picked up the file on Steve Rogers, opening it to find the old black and white picture of the Howling Commandos. Under it, was another black and white photo of her, a seemingly younger her, standing between Steve and Bucky surrounded by the members of the Howling Commandos talking among themselves.

In the photo, it was obvious Bucky was talking to Adira and Steve was listening, though smiling contently. Adira had a small smile on her lips with her hands behind her back and shoulders pulled down, making her look smaller while she looked back up at Bucky.

"I vaguely remember this photo being taken," Adira commented with a nostalgic smile while slipping the photo out. She then turned it to Fury, "we thought they were done taking photos, so we started talking," then Adira turned the photo back to where she could look at it, "but it actually made a perfect set-up for another good photo."

"You can keep it," Fury told, and Adira's eyes shot towards him, "there is no importance for it being there, you can go ahead and have it."

Adira smiled knowingly, "thank you," then the photo disappeared in white light, and her attention turned back to the file once more.

Her eyes flitted over the background of Steve and flicked over to the other side, noticing a picture of a colored, frozen Steve, and Adira's eyes widened slightly. "He's alive?" Adira wondered aloud, and then she heard Fury chuckle.

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for a tip where the plane crashed, we would still be searching that wasteland," Fury grumbled, causing Adira to chuckle.

Adira put down the file on Steve, "I do hope I can bring these files home or...?"

"The files stay here," Fury told, giving Adira a thin tablet. She smiled, looking down at the tablet.

"Thanks, though I do have one question, if I may ask?"

"Go ahead," Fury told, leaning back in his chair as Adira looked down at the tablet in her hands and tapped her thumb against it.

"Are they _really_ using the Tesseract to create clean energy? That sounds wonderful, in a perfect world, maybe, but this isn't a perfect world." Adira said slowly and softly, then she looked up at Fury, who held a placid expression of no emotion.

"Adira, you can trust me in that we are not abusing the power of the Tesseract, I would never do something to it without you knowing, and you know that," Fury informed, holding no emotion in his words.

Adira opened her mouth, but stopped and turned when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," Fury called out, and a red-haired agent walk in wearing the usual S.H.I.E.L.D. gear, Adira looked at the agent questionably, recognizing her immediately.

"I'm here to report, sir," the woman greeted, glancing down at Adira and Fury gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"Very well, Agent Romanoff, but first I think a formal introduction is in order." Fury gestured towards Adira, who had stepped off to the side.

Agent Romanoff turned, and if she was surprised by Adira's presence, she hid it well. "Agent Romanoff, this is Adira Griffin, an old friend of mine, she has come back to join S.H.I.E.L.D. after a well-deserved break," Fury stated, and Romanoff held her hand out, Adira took it for a handshake.

"I'm Agent Natasha Romanoff, though you probably already know that," she nodded towards the files on Fury's desk and gesturing towards the tablet tucked under Adira's arm, causing Adira to smile sheepishly.

"More than just you, Agent Romanoff, I assure you, but I think I overstayed my welcome and I should probably leave you to give your report to Nick," Adira smiled, then turned to Fury," is Coulson going to continue being my guard or should I show myself out?"

"He stressed in being able to spend as much time he can with you, so yes, he will continue in being your guard," Fury responded with a smile while grabbing his phone, and Adira rolled her eyes.

"So, how long is it going to take for him to get here?"

"Not long," Fury rolled his eye while waving a phone in his hand that was dialing Coulson before putting it up to his ear.

Adira and Natasha turned towards each other, "how long have you and Fury known each other?"

"A long time," Adira smiled with a small chuckle, "I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. a while back, but I had to leave, I needed a rest, now I'm back."

A phone clicked, "I asked her personally to come back and join the Avengers Initiative," Fury cut in, folding his hands together in front of him. Natasha turned towards Fury, then turned back to Adira.

"I thought you had to have an evaluation to join the Avengers Initiative?" Natasha questioned Fury while eyeing Adira.

"Yeah, you do, I wrote Adira's," Fury shot back, and Natasha turned to look at him. "Adira has similar abilities to yours, and then has some others, she checks all the boxes."

Then there was a knock on the door and Coulson stepped partially in but held the door open. "Hello Agent Romanoff," Coulson greeted, and Natasha gave a nod back.

"Hello, Agent Coulson," Natasha greeted back, then Coulson turned his attention to Adira.

"Ready?"

"Yup," Adira smiled, then turned to Fury, "see you later, Nick, stay in touch with me."

"It was great to see you again Adira, you are allowed to drop by when you can," Fury responded, and Adira gave him a nod with a smile.

Adira then turned to Natasha, who was still watching her carefully. "It was nice to meet you, Agent Romanoff."

"It was nice to meet you too, Adira," Natasha responded, then she watched as Adira left alongside Coulson, once the door closed, she turned back to Fury to give her report, and to ask many questions.

**∆∆∆∆∆∆∆**

Adira stood in the elevator with Coulson, watching him press a button below the button for the lobby.

"So, are you, what, my chauffeur now or...?" Adira teased, looking at Coulson with a smile.

Coulson chuckled, "no, until the Avengers Initiative is instated, you are a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"Oh joy, so what does that mean? Desk work?"

"No, fieldwork," Coulson stated, handing her a file with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on the top. "I scourged anything I could find on the Recrudescence company, both public and insider information, but I don't think you'll find anything useful in there," Adira opened the file as the elevator slid open and more people joined them.

Adira and Coulson looked at each other with knowing glances, then they returned to Coulson looking forward and Adira scanning the file. When the elevator reached the bottom, they walked out together and waited till the people that filed out with them were out of earshot.

"Whatever incriminating information they have, they kept it locked tight," Coulson said in a low voice, stopping to turn to Adira when she slowed to a stop while she scanned over the file.

"People don't stop to think a lab that practices forensics and eugenics at the same time is odd," Adira commented aloud, then closed the file to look up at Coulson, who sighed.

"Yes, it seems they have a hand in almost everything." Together, they walked towards the front door, but as they reached it, Coulson slowed down his pace, causing Adira to look at him curiously.

"What?" Adira chuckled, looking over at Coulson with a smile as they reached the front door.

Coulson looked at Adira with a smile, "since you are back with S.H.I.E.L.D. again, I want to be the one to give you back what you gave us for safekeeping." Then Coulson opened the door for Adira, who gave Coulson an odd look as she walked out and made the files in her hand disappear in a flash of white light.

When Adira looked forward, her eyes widened at the sight while she gasped. She turned to Coulson with a smile.

"Is that Nova?" Adira questioned excitedly while gesturing to the sleek black and white sports motorbike parked closely to the sidewalk.

"It is, the moment I got the memo that you were coming back into S.H.I.E.L.D. I had Nova come out of storage and upgraded," Coulson informed with a smile, then pulled out a fob key from his pocket and handed it to Adira. "She's all yours once again, I promise no one drove her."

"They couldn't if they tried," Adira smiled while snatching the key from Coulson before throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, Phil, this means a lot."

"Of course, Adira, anything for you," Coulson responded sincerely, then the two stepped back from their hug and Adira turned towards her bike.

"I owe you one, Phil," Adira called over her shoulder while shaking the key fob in the air.

"You're leaving me here to drive Nova around, are you?" Coulson questioned, to which Adira turned around with a scoff.

"You give me keys and expect me not to drive?" Adira shot back, "where do you wanna meet up?"

"Are you hungry? Want to meet up at John's?"

"Ah, yes, pizza, my soul food, alright, I'll meet you there," Adira answered back as she climbed onto Nova and pocketed the fob into the pocket of her black jeans. She pressed the button on the center console of the motorbike and it hummed to life, lights along and around the wheels turned on.

"Alright, I like the upgrades," Adira smiled to herself, then a black and white helmet materialized in her hands and she slipped it on.

Adira flipped the hood down of her helmet and kicked up the kickstand of her bike before speeding off into New York traffic.

**∆∆∆∆∆∆∆**

**Later that night...**

Adira's eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night and met two autumn-colored eyes in the dark. She shot up into a sitting position and cursed under her breath as she turned on a nearby lamp on her nightstand.

"What the hell, Romana? Coming in the middle of the night to scare me?" Adira shouted in a whisper, and the black cat sitting at the foot of the bed stared at her.

" _That was not my intention, Adira, I apologize_." The soothing voice that floated in the air told and Adira scoffed as she climbed out of bed.

Adira sighed as she walked towards her closet, "so I'm guessing you're here about something?"

" _I am, did you get permission to enter_ _Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S._?"

"No, but I got permission in as a one-time consultant, can you believe that?" Adira exasperated as she changed out of an oversized Led Zeppelin t-shirt and into a simple black long-sleeved shirt.

Romana turned to Adira and sat down, wrapping her tail around herself. " _That is odd, you know more about the Tesseract than all of them combined, are you not suspicious of that_?"

"Of course I am," Adira grumbled while changing into dark blue skinny jeans, "it's just... I _want_ to trust Nick, I want to believe he is not doing something dark with it, but my gut is telling me otherwise."

" _I know you will get answers, one way or another, just remember why you are going, Adira_."

"Yes, yes, I know," Adira said in a dismissive tone, then turned towards Romana, "you do know that I was planning to go there soon, right?"

" _Soon is too late_ ," Romana jumped off the bed as Adira sat down on it, " _the longer it takes for you to get there, the longer they have to make cover-ups, best to go now without warning_."

"I get that, you're an urgent gal and wouldn't stop pestering me until I go, what do you think I'm doing instead of crawling back into my warm bed?"

" _Glad that we've been friends for that long, can we consider each other sisters now_?"

"You're a cat," Adira deadpanned, then started to look around her room.

" _But my soul is human_."

"You're still a cat," Adira argued dryly while pulling on blue skinny jeans.

A burst of soft laughter echoed through the air. " _You treat me so cruelly, Adira, why do I deal with you_?"

"Because, Romana, we're family," Adira smiled, "I'm just pulling your tail."

Adira could almost feel the air become amused, " _you have a way with words_."

Romana watched as Adira looked in the same spot once again, "wh _at are you looking for_?"

"My boots, have you seen them?"

" _They are downstairs, my guess is because you were lazy_ ," Romana mused, and Adira clicked her tongue.

"Probably," Adira sighed, then took one long look at her bed, "which is my reasoning why my bed is staying like that, let's go." And with that, Adira went for the door, opening it for Romana to walk through. Once Romana cleared through the door, Adira flicked off the light and closed the door behind her.


	3. P.E.G.A.S.U.S.

Adira carefully drove Nova into a grassy back alley behind her home with cars and vans cramped inside. 

A soft thump resounded in the dark alley, causing Adira to look on top of a vandalized white van to see the shadow and two bright eyes of Romana standing on top.

“ _ Be careful, Adira, please _ .”

“When am I not careful, Romana?” Adira teased with a small smile as she made her helmet appear. Even in the dark and while being a cat Adira could tell Romana was giving her a look. 

Adira chuckled and put a hand up in surrender while the other balanced the helmet. “Alright, alright, I’ll be careful and not risk myself, even though I’m  _ terrible _ at keeping that kind of promise.”

“ _ Adira _ !” Romana exasperated, her head now hanging low and her tail flicking. Adira, on the other hand, laughed as she put her helmet on and flicked the visor up.

“I’ll see you later Romana, should I expect to see you at home?”

“ _ Sure _ ,” Romana hummed as she jumped down from the van, “ _ I’ll hold down the fort, I hope to see you soon _ .” Then Romana bounded away, disappearing around the corner.

Adira breathed in and flicked down the visor before backing up Nova to near the entrance of the alley. She gripped the handles and exhaled heavily.

“Alright, Nova, do your magic,” Adira whispered to her motorcycle as she pushed the button on the center console and the motorcycle rumbled to life. Adira revved the engine in two short bursts, causing the lights to grow brighter and other lights along the edge of the motorcycle burst to life.

Adira lifted her hands and looked down at a small ring that looked like rusted copper was adorned with a single, thick horizontal bar that ringed with magic. She then looked up and raised her hand, one staying forward while the other made a circling motion next to it.

In front of Adira, a portal grew in a vacant spot. The portal started with circling, red-orange energy that sparked, but then as Adira kept circling her hand, the magic exploded with white rays that flared. 

When the portal fully formed, Adira placed her hands back on the throttle, revving Nova one last time before speeding through the portal, causing Adira to huff from the sudden stop when the motorcycle landed on a sandy dune. 

Nova’s wheels slid on the sand, causing the lights around the wheels to grow brighter until a thin layer of light surrounded the wheels.

Adira turned in her seat and with one swift motion of her hand, the portal closed, then she turned forward again. She drove Nova down a small dune of sand and onto a dusty road, the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility not far ahead.

As drove, her visor lit up, revealing an incoming call from Fury. “Accept,” Adira commanded, and the screen darkened before becoming outlined in green.

“What’s up, Nick?”

“ _ I need you to head to the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility, something went wrong there with the Tesseract _ ,” Fury informed, causing Adira to shift uncomfortably in her seat as she heard the whirring of a helicopter in the background of Fury’s end.

“Do you know anything else besides that?” 

“ _ No, I’m on my way there, and I better see you there too, Adira _ .”

“You know I will,” Adira reassured, then focused through her visor to see that the facility was not too far ahead, “I’ll be there in a second.”

“ _ Good, I’ll see you there _ ,” Fury said, then with that, the call dropped and the green light turned off.

Though as Adira came closer, goosebumps formed on her arms as a prickling sensation reached through her jacket. Adira frowned from behind her visor, and when she came to a stop in front of the gates, she took off her helmet and conjured it away to stare at the chaos in front of her. 

Guards and scientists ran to and fro, carrying things and putting them into the back of trucks. As the gates started to open to let a truck pass through, Adira drove Nova to the side of the road to let them pass.

Adira watched as the trucks rumbled past, then she turned her attention to the gate, where one guard stood by in between the two gates. With a sigh, Adira drove up to it, the guard already standing there to greet her.

“I’m Agent Adira Griffin,” she stated while pulling her badge out, flipping it open for the guard to see, “Director Fury requested for me to be here.”

The guard looked between her and the badge before speaking into an earpiece. The gates slid open once more, and the guard leaned forward to shout over the siren.

“Agent Coulson is inside ordering evac, go speak with him.”

“Alright, thanks,” Adira shouted as she looked past him and at the chaos behind before rolling through the gates. Though once she hit the descent into the facility itself, Adira looked around in horrific wonder at the people lining the walls making runs.

When she entered the parking garage, trucks lined the way, forcing Adira to go into the back where no one bothered to go. Adira sighed and muttered words under her breath as she kicked the kickstand on Nova, causing the soft rumbling to cease.

“Thought you’d be back here,” a voice called out, and Adira turned to see Coulson.

“Yes, well, where else would I be? If I was anywhere else, it would be  _ unnatural _ ,” Adira replied sarcastically, causing Coulson to chuckle as he walked over to her and handed over an earpiece connected to a radio and a clip-on S.H.I.E.L.D. badge.

Adira took both gratefully, first clipping on the badge, and then she started to put the earpiece into her ear and the radio into the inside pocket of her jacket as they walked.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“I was hoping  _ you _ could answer that,” Coulson answered with a small sigh, “the Tesseract started to act erratically three hours ago, and Selvig has been unsuccessful in controlling it.”

“I see… Anything else?”

“Your main focus is on the Tesseract, but otherwise, meet me at the helicopter pad in an hour, Fury should be here soon,” Coulson told in a professional tone as he led her through a backway entrance into the lab.

When they entered the lab, Adira stopped in her tracks and sharply took in a breath. Coulson turned to Adira with concern in his eyes, and when he touched her shoulder, she jumped away.

“Are you okay, Adira?”

“Never better… But I can confirm something is wrong with the Tesseract, everything feels like a bunch of little knives are stabbing me at once.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, it will go away, eventually, I just wasn’t expecting to feel this from the Tesseract,” Adira told nonchalantly, almost brushing off Coulson’s concern, which waned a bit, “but thanks for the concern, I also didn’t mean to jump away.”

“I understand,” Coulson responded lightly, then he nudged Adira forward, farther into the lab. “There is someone I need you to meet, he might be able to answer your questions of what happened better than I could,” Coulson informed, leading Adira to the back of the lab.

Coulson stopped next to a rope leading up to railing above where a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent watched from. “Agent Barton,” Coulson called out, gaining the attention of the man, “there is someone I want you to meet.”

With that, in a matter of seconds, the man was down the rope and standing in front of them. He looked at Adira and regarded her, “you must be Agent Griffin, the one who re-entered recently?”

“Yup, that is me, and if my memory serves me correctly, you’re also ‘Hawkeye,’ Agent Barton,” Adira smiled while reaching out to shake hands with Barton, who chuckled lightly.

“Yeah, that’s me… Fury said you would be coming, do you think you can figure out what’s going on with that thing?” Barton said, then nodded towards the direction of the Tesseract.

“Possibly, tell me what happened three hours ago,” Adira shrugged, but then Coulson budged in.

“Sorry to cut this short, but I need to continue ordering the evac, I’ll see you guys around,” Coulson said, then goodbyes were exchanged before he left. Once Coulson left, Barton turned his attention back to Adira.

“What happened here was not as exciting as you think, it just went off by itself.”

“By  _ itself _ ?” Adira enunciated carefully, and Barton nodded.

“Everyone here was going over their findings, Selvig was at his desk, there was no tampering, I checked, twice,” Barton said in a low voice as if someone was listening in.

Adira made a humming noise, then she turned on her foot towards the front of the lab, “I’ll start trying to figure out what caused this, you keep watch and tell me if you see anything noteworthy.”

“Will do,” Barton answered, and with that, the two parted; Barton went up the rope to return to his post as Adira weaved her way through panicked scientists scurrying to and fro. Though partway through, Adira paused to glance at Selvig’s desk, where he was frantically clicking on his computer.

Adira calmly walked over to his desk, taking a glance over his shoulder and at his computer. “I know you’re there,” Selvig announced in a strained voice, “what do you want?”

“I’m Agent Griffin, and I want to know why there is a vortex opening in the next hour in this room.”

“Huh, Fury said you were an expert on the Tesseract, nothing gets by you,” Selvig commented, “and for the wormhole, that is what I’m trying to prevent from happening.”

“Why does no one else know this?”

“What’s the point in telling right now? I’ll just be sternly talked to some more,” Selvig retorted, “besides, shouldn’t I be asking questions? I’ve been told you know more.”

“When the Tesseract is being opened from an outside force, I am blind in that area, I have knowledge for I think for everything but  _ that _ ,” Adira grumbled, then turned towards the Tesseract. “But maybe I can figure out who’s on the other side,” Adira muttered, then started towards the Tesseract while Selvig called after her so she could repeat what she said.

Adira reached into her other pocket inside her jacket that did not hold the radio and pulled out a small, slim black box with a silver etching of a square in front of it. Inside the box, Adira took out a tube made of glass, the size of a normal testing tube, with a line of a coiled grey metal inside from a bed of black foam. 

Placing the box back into her pocket, Adira then took off the plastic cap from the top of the tube, revealing two metal prongs set on a filter. When Adira moved the tube closer to the Tesseract, electrical charges leaped towards the metal prongs before making a constant connection.

A blue charge layered over the metal coil and a blue cloud started to fill the rest of the space. When the electrical current dropped from the metal prongs, Adira pulled back and placed the cap once more on it.

Adira started to make her way towards the back, and while passing by Selvig’s desk, he looked at her questionably. “What did you do with the Tesseract?”

“I did nothing,” Adira responded while not stopping, “I’ll just... I'll be right back.” And with that, Adira disappeared, sidestepping scientists and attempting to keep out of Barton’s sight while making her way to the offices in the back.

When Adira stood in front of the door, she pushed it open and continued in with a purposeful stride before ducking into the nearest office. Adira leaned against the wall and closed her eyes with a sigh as she slid down it. 

The office made the sounds of the chaos in the lab sound distant, something Adira found herself reveling in. A heartbeat later, Adira opened her eyes and lifted her hand to look at the tube in her hand.

“You are too much trouble,” Adira grumbled down at the thing, and with a growl, she took off the top completely from the tube. “Show me your secrets, Space,” Adira demanded with a low tone, and with that, the tube emptied and what lied on the other side of the building vortex was revealed.


	4. "The Tesseract Is Misbehaving"

Adira walked over to Coulson, who was waiting at the landing pad. She stopped next to him, muttering the words, "when is he going to be here?"

"Now," Coulson announced as he looked up to the sky, and Adira joined him, noticing the helicopter moving through the sky towards them.

Adira stuffed her hands into her pockets, "wow, am I not the queen of great timing?"

Coulson smiled while breathing out a laugh, “I thought you were going to work on figuring out the Tesseract?”

"Don't tell Nick or anyone for that matter," Adira started hesitantly, rocking back and forth on her feet, causing Coulson to look at Adira. "But I don't think we can shut it off from this end, my advice; sit and wait, then hope for the best."

"I don't think a ' _best_ ' is going to come out of this."

"That's what I mean by hope," Adira sighed, watching the helicopter as it came closer. Then she looked at Coulson and looked over his face, "one question; why are you wearing shades _at_ _night_? Who are you, _Men In Black_?"

Coulson chuckled at this, "I don't think right now is a good time for jokes, Adira."

"I feel like my question is valid," Adira smirked, but then the smirk fell when the roaring sound of a helicopter above her, and she looked forward at the landing pad. The moment the helicopter hit the pad, the door slid open and Maria climbed out with Fury following right behind.

Coulson and Adira walked up to Fury, "how bad is it?" Fury yelled over the roar of the helicopter.

"That's the problem, sir," Coulson told as he pulled off his shades, "we don't know." Fury regarded those words, then looked over at Adira, who averted her eyes.

Fury took in a deep breath, "let's go down, then, lead the way." He nodded to the pair in front of him, who then turned and started to lead Maria and Fury through the chaos. Coulson and Adira led Fury with Maria trailing behind to the elevator that would take them down to the lower levels of the facility.

While the elevator shot down to the lower levels, Fury looked between Coulson and Adira until he settled on Adira.

“Adira, give me your rundown and analysis.”

“Well,” Adira started, dragging out her beginning, “From what I could gather, everyone was taking a break and talking over their tests and findings when the Tesseract went off, and as my analysis… Once we get back down there, maybe I can get an analysis if it's not crowded.”

“Did you get the chance to talk to Dr. Selvig?”

“Yes, but you won't like what I found out,” Adira answered apprehensively.

"Shoot."

"Well, basically, if this is not shut down soon, a vortex will probably open and... Whatever will come out of it."

Fury sighed his frustration and looked towards Coulson as the elevator doors reached the bottom and slid open. “How long ago did this happen?” Fury questioned as everyone exited the elevator.

“Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago,” Coulson answered, causing Fury to turn his attention to him.

“NASA didn’t authorize Selvig to go to test phase.”

“He wasn’t testing it, he wasn't even in the room, and as Adira said, no one was… Spontaneous event.”

“It just turned itself on?” Maria questioned while Fury turned his head towards Adira, who gave him an odd look.

“Okay, well, that is one thing I am not so sure about, it only activates when wielded,” Adira sighed, sounding slightly defeated, “maybe the hive mind inside of the Tesseract is tired of being prodded?”

“The ‘hive mind’?” Maria echoed with doubt in her voice, and Adira blinked at her.

“You really think something powerful like the Tesseract is not at least a little bit sentient?”

Fury looked between Maria and Adira as they started to have a mildly heated debate over the Tesseract, then turned his attention back to Coulson, “where are the energy levels now?”

“Climbing, when Selvig couldn’t shut it down, Adira suggested we order an evac, so we did.”

“How long to get everyone out?”

“Campus should be clear in the next half-hour.”

“Do better,” Fury commanded, and Coulson gave a small nod before turning away, giving Adira a pat on the shoulder that broke her attention from the debate before walking away.

Adira sighed, then took the lead in showing Fury and Maria the way to the lab, only half-way listening to the developing conversation behind her.

“Sir, evacuation may be futile,” Maria argued, and Adira paused on the stairs until she was in step with Fury.

“We should tell them to go back to sleep?”

“If we can’t control the Tesseract’s energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance.”

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Fury slowed down to walk next to Maria and murmur something into her ear.

“Sir, is that really a priority right now?” Maria exasperated, causing Adira to turn towards the two with a look of confusion. Adira watched Fury turn to Maria with equal exasperation, “until such as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Fury leaned forward to give a command, then turned back to Adira, leaving Maria to turn to two guards and command them to come with her.

“What was that about?” Adira questioned while walking the last few steps towards the door. “The tech below has to be removed, I am trusting Maria with it.”

“Wow,” Adira rolled her eyes while reaching for the handle, “why is it a priority?”

“Because the technology we have down there is important, I can go into detail later.”

“And you can always trust me in making you go into detail later,” Adira told light-heartedly with a smile, finally opening the door for Fury to walk through, but when he passed the smile fell from her face, and she burned a questioning glare into his back.

“Talk to me, Doctor,” Fury demanded while walking into the room, followed closely behind by Adira, who put on a blank expression as she analyzed the room.

"Director," Selvig greeted with a stressed tone as he started to walk towards Director Fury with haste. "Is there anything we know for certain?"

"Tesseract is misbehaving."

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"No, it's not funny at all," Selvig told as he stuck himself between Adira and Fury before continuing to walk beside them. "The Tesseract is not only active, she's....behaving." Selvig continued as they walked towards the computers.

“I assume you pulled the plug.”

“She’s an energy source, we turn off the power, she turns it back on,” Selvig explained, turning to get on a computer, “if she reaches peak level... “

“We prepared for this, Doctor, harnessing energy from space.”

“But we don’t have the harness,” Selvig started, turning his attention to his computer, “my calculations are far from complete, and she’s throwing off interference, radiation; nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation.”

Fury looked at the Tesseract, then back to Dr. Selvig, “that can be harmful,” he commented, Adira, in response, smiled and rolled her eyes.

“You will be fine, it’s not going to hurt you,” Adira teased, and Fury scoffed.

“Says the one who’s immune to it.”

“Hypothetically,” Adira quipped with a small smile, “but let’s change the subject.”

Fury shook his head, “yes, I’m sure you met him when you got here, so where’s Agent Barton, Adira?”

The two turned when they heard Dr. Selvig scoff, “The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual.”

“I didn’t ask you, but thank you, Doctor,” Fury responded tightly, then he turned to Adira, who was taking out a radio.

“Barton, boss is here, time to report,” Adira commanded into the radio before putting it away.

“You seriously can’t just say my last name or title, can you?” Fury questioned with an undertone of annoyance when they had walked away from Selvig’s table, now standing closer to the Tesseract.

“Nope, but I will if a dignitary is around, I guess,” Adira responded, rocking back and forth on her feet. Fury scoffed, "I do hope so, or else you’re fired.”

Adira smirked as she looked up a Fury, but then both of them turned when she heard footsteps approaching them. They turned together to see Barton walking towards them, finally stopping next to Fury.

“I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things.” Fury commented with a soft voice, keeping their conversation from unwanted attention.

“Well, I see better from a distance.”

“Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?”

“Other than Adira’s ‘friend’ who left recently,” Barton nodded towards her, causing her to sway back and forth on her feet again innocently, “no one’s come or gone, and he’s been cleared and Selvig’s clean, no contacts, no IM's.”

They started to wander closer to the Tesseract, standing directly in front of it. “If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn’t at this end,” Barton stated while they looked at the Tesseract together.

“'At this end?'” Fury echoed, looking at Barton, and so did Adira.

“Yeah, the Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?” Barton asked rhetorically, looking between Fury and Adira and the Tesseract. “Doors open from both sides.”

“Like a swinging door,” Adira agreed, then tensed as a sharp, scraping feeling glided across her skin. “Speaking of swinging doors, there is something I probably should tell the both of you…”

Though before Adira could continue, the Tesseract crackled and lashed out with a sudden amount of energy. A rumble filled the room. Adira, Fury, and Barton turned to look at the Tesseract, Adira then moved to stand between the two men. The three of them stood together as they watched the Tesseract crackle with every pulse of building energy.

Adira's eyes widened as a beam of energy opened a portal at the front of the room. When the rest of the energy was released and floated up the walls to the ceiling, everyone shielded their face except Adira, who narrowed her eyes as she pulled out the necklace with a white, burning stone hanging from it from under her shirt.

There was no mistaking it, _someone had come through that portal_.

  
****


	5. Meeting The Enemy

Adira watched carefully the figure kneeling with the blue energy flaring off of him at the front of the room. The only sound that filled the room was ragged breathing and the sound of gear clunking together as the guards cautiously approached the man standing up.

The glowing stone in the weapon the man held caught Adira's attention, and she felt the goosebumps on her skin of prickling energy mounting in the room.

"Sir, please put down the spear," Fury called out, and Adira glanced at him. "Scepter," Adira corrected with a mutter, and Fury quietly sighed to himself.

The man looked down at the scepter, then lifted it as the weapon let out a blast, Adira having just enough time to throw herself and Fury away and to the ground, Barton landing right behind them as electrical outlets started to spark and flare.

Adira heard the gunshots, the shouting, the explosions, and the fighting, but she kept herself and Fury to the ground. When the fighting stopped and there was a moment of silence, Adira let herself creep into a standing position to survey the damage.

Fury tugged her back down, then nudged her to set her focus on the Tesseract. Together, they crouched and snuck their way to the Tesseract, Adira throwing glances to watch their aggressor charge towards Barton.

When they reached the Tesseract, they turned to watch Barton be taken under control with the scepter the man carried. Adira once again narrowed her eyes at the rock that sat within the scepter. Fury gently back-handed her arm and she turned to him.

Adira glanced nearby for a case, but found there was none, then she stole a glance towards the man with the scepter and saw he was busy taking control of others, so she focused on the space in front of her.

Weaving threads of light poured out from Adira's hands into the shape of the case, and with the quick movements of her hands, the glowing shape of the case dimmed. The transformation of the light into the steel case crept at the side until it fully took shape and the light at Adira's hands faded out.

As the last of the case solidified, Fury grabbed the Tesseract and put it into its slot, then he attempted to quietly close the case and snapped it shut. Adira glanced over at their new enemy and saw him take control of the last few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, then she looked back at Fury when the locks snapped. Fury gave a nod, and the two rose to their feet silently to make their escape.

"Please don't," The man said, then he turned to them, "I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier," Fury responded without turning around, and Adira gave him a doubtful look.

"Of course it does, I've come too far for anything else."

"Yeah," Adira huffed as she turned around along with Fury, but making sure she stood slightly in front of him, "many of us come far, and we still don't get what we want." The man looked at her with what she would identify as annoyance with a sprinkle of interest.

"I am Loki of Asgard," he declared as pulled away his focus to look at both Adira and Fury, "and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"Loki," Dr. Selvig breathed as he stood up, "brother of Thor." At that, Loki cast Dr. Selvig an annoyed glare.

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury reasoned, catching the attention of Loki. "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

"Are you planning to step on us?"

"I come with glad tidings," Loki began as he walked towards Dr. Selvig, "Of a world made free."

"Free from what?"

"Freedom, freedom is life's great lie, once you accept that, in your heart," Loki told with sincerity, then abruptly turned to Dr. Selvig to place the tip of the scepter over his chest, "you will know peace."

Adira, throughout the conversation, had disappeared from Fury's side and was now on the other side of the room, now closer to Barton than Fury.

Loki then turned to her, and then every eye turned to her. Adira's eyes crawled over Loki as he and Barton switched places, stopping at his eyes, then she heard him chuckle darkly, "You observe me as a predator would," he walked closer to Adira than needed, "but let me tell you that you will find no weaknesses in me."

"Is that a challenge?" Adira smirked, the left corner of her lip quirked upwards. "Because let me tell you this; you'll find no weaknesses in me either."

"Then what is he?" Loki questioned, pointing the scepter towards Fury, and Adira's eyes traveled over to him. With Adira's eyes averted, Loki raised the scepter to touch over Adira's heart, but before it reached her chest, she grabbed the other end of the scepter and her head whipped towards him, her eyes narrowing.

"You think I am that easy to control?" Adira asked in an offended tone, and when Loki went to pull the scepter away, she let go, and a mist started to form around her hands.

"Come to think of it, I suppose not,” Loki hummed, “after all, I know you used the power of the Tesseract to see me before I arrived.”

Adira lifted an eyebrow, “well, don’t you feel so clever?”

“I _am_ clever,” Loki smiled, then slashed his scepter at Adira, who in turn spun away from the attack. Adira rolled her eyes, “yeah, I can tell.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at her, seemingly evaluating her and his options. The scepter started to glow, but it died down at the interruption of Barton.

"Sir," Barton started, gaining the attention of Loki as he walked to get a better look at the angry blue energy gathering at the top of the dome, "they’re stalling, this place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us." He looked directly at Fury, "they mean to bury us."

"Like the pharos of old." Fury interjected, then looked at Adira, who looked back with unspoken understanding.

"He's right, the portal is collapsing on itself, we've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical," Dr. Selvig informed, turning to his new leader.

"Well then," Loki started, then Barton drew his gun out and shot Fury, making Adira jump in shock. Before Adira could react, Loki turned to her and brought the scepter to her chest.

Adira sucked in a breath as she felt the stabbing sensation creep around her body, feeling the heat of her powers being replaced with ice. Her eyes turned amber for a second, but then it turned back to their original blue before Adira collapsed to the ground and the scepter rebounded off her chest.

Loki huffed and turned to Barton, “pick her up, we are taking this Midgardian with us,” he commanded, then turned to start walking away.

While Barton picked up and carried Adira, another agent picked up the case holding the Tesseract before handing it to Dr. Selvig.

Barton carried Adira down to the car garage below, passing by Maria without a second glance. “I need these vehicles,” Barton demanded while nodding to two trucks.

Maria looked at Adira full of concern, “what happened to Adira?” she questioned while watching Barton open the back door and place Adira in the back seat.

“Fell over and hit her head, Fury told us to get her out and checked as soon as we can,” Barton answered while closing the door and starting to turn to get the keys for the truck.

“And who’s that?” Maria pressed once more, noticing Loki climbing into the back of the vehicle.

“They didn’t tell me,” Barton waved off with a shrugging tone, then with one last look, Maria started to turn and walk away.

But before Maria could go far, her radio crackled on.

“ _Hill! Do you copy? Barton has turned_ ,” Fury informed through the radio.

Right before Barton fired his gun, Maria rolled out of the way, giving Barton enough time to fire a few more shots before climbing into the truck and speeding off.

As the truck sped down the tunnel, Adira stirred awake to the sound of distant gunshots. Whispers rang in her head, saying one too many things on top of each other. The world spun as the voices fought for dominance, causing Adira to close her eyes and steady her breathing.

But Adira shot up when a rumbling noise reverberated around her, causing her hiss when her head started to throb. Adira moved to where she sat in the seat normally, and then her eyes flew wide in realization when she noticed rocks falling from the ceiling around the truck she was in.

When the truck cleared the doo, they raced into the night, and Adira let out a breath of air. Adira then closed her eyes and pulled out a necklace from under her shirt, a thick, silvery chain that held a pendant of an uncut looking moonstone wrapped haphazardly with a silver-like wire.

Adira gripped the stone, and the soft, swirling multicolor light inside changed to a burning white as it glowed. She took one last look at the case that held the Tesseract that was in Selvig’s lap before closing her eyes. The sounds of the whirring helicopter fell away, the sounds of gunshots and glass breaking became distant.

All the voices in her head ceased, and when Adira opened her eyes, light glowed from around her iris. The hand gripping the glowing stone reached out towards the door, rays of light poured from her hand, eliciting shouts of surprise from the front seat.

The rays of light shot at the passenger door, launching it from the truck and onto the dirt road. Adira took no hesitation in following suit, as she threw herself out of the truck and then started to almost skate across the ground as circular rays of light in the shape of mandalas formed under her feet with every step.

When Adira reached the side of the road, the light under her feet ceased to appear, and she spun on her feet to watch the truck retreat. The light in Adira’s eyes dimmed, and so did the light in the stone, the white light returning to its soft colors of light within.

Loki watched her as the truck retreated, the one look they shared as Adira stood at the side of the road were hooded, but before he was out of range, he raised his scepter and let loose a blast of energy her way.

Adira climbed to her feet while backing up just enough where the blast landed right at her feet. She flew backward from the explosion it caused and landed a few feet back with all the air gone from her lungs. Adira took in greedy breaths of air, turning to her side when she heard approaching footsteps.

Distantly, Adira heard her name being called over the ringing in her ears, in her eyesight when she rolled onto her back, she saw Fury in a kneeling position beside her. Adira reached her hand out, groping in the air until Fury grabbed her hand. "Give me a minute," Adira groaned when the ringing stopped, "I just need a minute."

Then Adira reached out her other hand, then stretched out her fingers and a soft glow came off of them as she felt the hum of energy return to her. " _Now_ my powers return to me," Adira mumbled with a bored tone, causing Fury to chuckle.

" _Director Fury_?" Coulson's voice crackled over a radio, " _Director Fury, do you copy_?" Fury sighed and took out the radio, "I copy, Adira escaped and I found her."

" _How is she_?"

"Shaken, but fine," Fury responded as he helped Adira into a sitting position. "Forget my first command, now that Adira is safe, I want every living soul looking for that briefcase."

" _Roger that_ ," Maria's voice responded, and Adira slumped against Fury in relief.

"Coulson, get back to base, this is a level seven," Fury told, and Adira leaned back to watch Fury's face, who looked back at her. "As of right now, we are at war."

" _What do we do_?" Coulson questioned, Adira gave a nod to Fury.

"We gather the Avengers."


End file.
